26 October 2006 — The Independent Directors Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers jointly announce the creation of the ‘Director of the Year’ national award. For the first time in Russia, an award will recognise the personal contribution of directors to their companies’ development and to implementing a corporate governance system in accordance with best practices.
Mike Kubena, Managing Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Russia and a member of the Judging Panel for the award, said of the project:
“The Director of the Year is the only award that goes to the best representatives of the business community working in corporate governance. Even though in Russia the insititute is in its early stages, the number of companies and professionals taking an active approach to introducing quality corporate governance is constantly growing. We believe that this award will stimulate further developments in this area.”
Alexander Filatov, Executive Director of the Independent Directors Association, believes that there is a strong need for a national competition among independent directors and board chairmen of Russian companies. So far this year, annual general shareholders meetings of 100 Russian companies have elected over 150 independent directors.
The Judging Panel will decide on winners in the following categories:
- Independent Director of the Year
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
- Corporate Secretary.
The Judging Panel consists of representatives of companies with high business standards, government officials and members of international organisations. Members include Robert Dudley (TNK-BP), Derk Sauer (Independent Media Sanoma Magazines), Mike Kubena PricewaterhouseCoopers), Alexander Izosimov (OAO Vimpelcom), Sergei Soldatenkov (OAO MegaFon), Maria Voskresenskaya (Tatneft), Alexei Savatyugin (Ministry of Finance) and other high-profile figures in the business community.
The awards ceremony will be held on 14 December 2006.
General sponsor of the project — Beeline.
General media sponsor — Interfax news agency.
Information for editors
1) For more information on the award, go to http://www.nand.ru/award/index.html, or contact:
- Natalia Kraskovskaya (IDA) at tel: +7 (495) 739-43-19
- Vera Totskaya (PricewaterhouseCoopers) at tel: +7 (495) 967-61-79
2)
PricewaterhouseCoopers provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services for public and private clients. More than 140,000 people in 149 countries connect their thinking, experience and solutions to build public trust and enhance value for clients and their stakeholders.
“PricewaterhouseCoopers” refers to the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.
3) The Independent Directors Association (IDA) is a professional organisation uniting Russian and international corporate directors and specialists in corporate governance.
Mission: to assist Russian public companies to improve performance by implementing leading practices in corporate directors’ work.
Objective: to create and uphold the professional and ethical standards of independent directors’ activity.
In 2004–2006, independnet directors in the following companies became IDA members: TMK, Baltica, Severstal-Avto, Raspadskaya, Evrokhim, SUEK, Mechel, AKB Mezhprombank, MDM Bank, Norilsk Nickel, Wimm-Bill-Dann, North-West Telecom, Centretelecom, Votninskaya GES, Kalugaenergo, Kurganenergo, Permenergo, Stavropolskaya GRES and others.
